Flooded Atlantic City Feels the Early Brunt

By

Sophia Hollander

Updated Oct. 30, 2012 12:35 a.m. ET

Atlantic City once served as a beacon for New Jersey, attracting millions of tourists every year to gamble and stroll along its boardwalk. On Monday, the city which has struggled to maintain its allure in recent years, became a different kind of pioneer, providing an early glimpse of Hurricane Sandy's deadly power.

ENLARGE

A flooded street along the Atlantic City boardwalk on Monday
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

"This is the worst-case scenario for us," said Tom Foley, Atlantic City's director of emergency management. "In 28 years, I've never seen weather this bad."

By the morning, waves had engulfed the city's beach, breaking off a 50-foot section of the city's boardwalk, which had been under construction, and sending timbers hurtling through newly formed canals. Water streamed over cars and past doorsteps; about 85% of the city was submerged at high tide, officials said. As water seeped into homes, people started "panicking," Mr. Foley said.

The heavy damage was another blow for a city that has struggled in recent years, relying on a shrinking gambling industry for a sizable portion of its revenue. Casinos shut down Sunday. Officials called for a mandatory evacuation of the entire county, closed the casinos, closed county and municipal roadways, installed a curfew of 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and summoned the National Guard to assist with a rescue effort in Atlantic City that grew increasingly urgent as the storm bore down.

ENLARGE

Flooding on U.S. Route 30, one of three major approaches to Atlantic City, on Monday. The city was hit by high waters as Hurricane Sandy neared.
Reuters

Still, about 3,000 of the city's 40,000 residents people stayed, Mr. Foley said. One woman had a fatal heart attack as she tried to evacuate, Gov. Chris Christie said. Her name wasn't released and local authorities said the death couldn't immediately be classified as storm-related.

"I don't have anywhere to go," said Amber Henderson, a 23-year old Atlantic City resident who chose to wait out the storm with her husband and two children in her apartment. She lives on the sixth floor, she said.

Ms. Henderson waded out through the flooded streets, snapping photos for her Instagram feed. She is about 5-feet-8-inches tall, and the water rose past her knees, nearly reaching her waist, she said.

The night before, she watched as "the streets were lit up because the power lines were just exploding," she said.

More than 24,000 of Atlantic County's 66,000 residents had lost power by Monday afternoon, said Linda Gilmore, the county's public-information director. Still, Ms. Henderson, who grew up in Ocean City and said she still had weak power in her apartment, said she planned to stay put. "I'm a little bit of a survivor," she said.

Others chose to evacuate, many despite significant reluctance. "I really didn't want to come here, but considering the alternative it's better to save our lives than not," said Brian Rosenberg, who lives in Ventnor City with his wife Jennifer and evacuated to Buena (N.J.) Regional Middle School. "I was not looking forward to swimming in the apartment."

About 100 cots lined the school's hallways. "It's not the Waldorf, but it's not a mattress on the floor either," said John Webb, a 52-year-old Atlantic City resident.

Atlantic City still relies heavily on tourism. A Rutgers University study from May 2010 found the seaside destination drew 34.4 million visitors who spent an estimated $7.5 billion in 2008. Casino resorts were a major draw, with 80% of visitors reporting that gambling was the primary purpose of their trip.

But in recent years, the industry has struggled as it has lost ground to a host of regional competitors. By the morning, water had risen in the streets surrounding the new $2.4-billion Revel Casino, which opened this spring amid hopes that it could reignite the industry.

But revenues continue to decline overall most months since it opened. In the second quarter nine of the city's 12 casinos reported losses. Gambling revenue across the city is down 4.8% for the year.

On Monday, many of the casinos were boarded up, empty save for a few security personnel and top executives.

"There's a lot at stake," said Cory Morowitz, an Atlantic City casino consultant. "We should be able to come back from this. Hopefully the damage is contained and we move on."

Robert Griffin, CEO of Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., and some other employees stayed behind to watch over the properties. Mr. Griffin said he was waiting out the storm inside the Taj Mahal.

Tom Gilbert, the district commander for the Atlantic City Tourist District, said that the waterfront casinos had started to sustain some damage to outside structures like awnings from the storm.

"We are starting to see some damage with the heavy winds," Mr. Gilbert said.

During a news conference Monday evening, Mr. Christie repeatedly attacked Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford for allowing people to stay in city shelters, including a school a block away from the boardwalk. "He was sending out a message that was counter to my message," Mr. Christie said. "I'm very disappointed."

Mr. Langford, in a telephone interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper Monday night, said now wasn't the time to get into a verbal joust with the governor but said Mr. Christie was ill-advised and misinformed.

Mr. Langford didn't return calls for comment.

Mr. Christie also criticized Atlantic City officials for failing to prepare better for the storm and evacuate people more quickly. Local officials weren't available to respond.

But the problem wasn't limited to Atlantic City. Residents stayed put across the barrier islands.

In nearby Brigantine, 50% of residents refused to evacuate and 25% didn't in Seaside Heights, state officials said. "It's just stupid," said Mr. Christie during a news conference at the state police Regional Operations Intelligence Center in Ewing.

"I'm very concerned about the people who refused to adhere to my mandatory evacuation order and said they were going to ride it out. They are now in harm's way. I don't know if we can get them out or not given the conditions," Mr. Christie said.

The New Jersey State Police had received requests for swift boats to assist in rescues in some of the barrier islands, said Lt. Stephen Jones, a spokesman.

State police helicopters were grounded because of high winds, making rescues more difficult, Mr. Jones said.

In Cape May, many said they would assess the situation throughout the day.

Emma Gowen, 72 years old, said she'd lived in Cape May for 60 years. With a full supply of candles and a freezer full of fish, Ms. Gowen said she predicted the storm would turn away from the historic town.

The worst storm she has experienced was Hurricane Agnes in 1972. "I remember that," she said. "We were wading around the town and the electric was going, 'Zzzit! Zzzit!'"

Jonathan Sachar, 49, a movie producer and former real-estate developer, had to tend to the dozen sheep on his parents' 15-acre farm and lead them to higher ground.

Steve McCullough, a commercial fisherman, walked his five-month-old puppy on the boardwalk in the morning. "This is going to be a good one," he said. "Probably up in the top five I've seen come by here."

Mr. McCullough said he felt safe in his second-floor home with a generator, food and water. He left during Hurricane Gloria in 1985, but when he came back and only found a few downed branches, he felt it wasn't worth evacuating.

"I'm going to ride it out and see what happens," he said. "I'm just going to hunker down and hope for the best."

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.